Commission report highlights the importance of EU Cohesion policy

The European Commission published today the 7th Cohesion report

The European Commission published today the 7th Cohesion report, taking the pulse of EU regions, drawing lessons from cohesion spending during the crisis years and setting the scene for Cohesion Policy after 2020.

Analysing the current state of the EU's economic, social and territorial cohesion, the Cohesion report shows that Europe's economy is bouncing back but disparities persist between and within our Member States.

Without pre-empting the final proposal of the Commission on Cohesion policy after 2020 , the report suggests that Cohesion Policy should keep on investing in all EU regions and focus on three main purposes:

Leaving no one behind, by tackling unemployment, investing in skills and business development while fighting social exclusion and discrimination;

Supporting structural reforms, as improving public administration boosts competitiveness, growth and maximise the impact of investments.

In addition, the report sets out options for the future implementation mechanism of the policy. There is consensus that more flexibility within a stable framework and simplified rules are needed.

A public consultation on the future Cohesion Policy will be launched in early 2018. In May 2018, the Commission's proposal for the multi-annual financial framework (MFF) will be presented, followed by the proposals for Cohesion Policy after 2020.